Acceptability and student engagement in high school social emotional learning: A mixed-methods study of the development of Well Connected©

The groundbreaking work of Roger Weissberg and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2015) framework has resulted in increased interest in social and emotional learning (SEL) across multiple grade levels and school types, including high schools. As research and programming emerge for this critical and often overlooked adolescent audience, it is important to understand both how high school teachers and students perceive SEL and which programmatic features are most engaging for high schoolers. Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined closed- and open-ended survey responses collected from students and their teachers in 17 high schools across the 2020-2021 remote schooling year. This was conducted as part of the development of the Well Connected © SEL and wellness curriculum, which was recently created through a research-practice partnership (Pas et al., 2024). Findings indicate high acceptability of SEL, with about three-quarters of teachers and students reporting that it is important or extremely important to explicitly teach SEL. Over 80% reported that Well Connected © content was a fit for their grade level. Despite this, student engagement was noted as the top challenge for teachers. The most preferred engagement strategies were games and low-stakes ways for students to share ideas (e.g., polling students). Themes about technology and teacher readiness to implement emerged in both the qualitative and quantitative data. We highlight implications for optimizing implementation of SEL in high schools. We note how these findings complement the legacy of Dr. Weissberg and his research on SEL.